Billy Bush, Access Hollywood Respond to Lewd Trump Tape [Updated]

The tape, of a conversation between Bush and Donald Trump in 2005, surfaced Friday.

On Friday, mere hours after The Washington Post published damning audio tape of Donald Trump having a coarse conversation with Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush in 2005, the show’s current host Natalie Morales opened the evening’s episode with a segment devoted to the tape.

Morales explained the circumstances during which the conversation took place, clarifying that Trump and Bush were on an Access Hollywood bus, preparing to film a segment about Trump’s cameo on Days of Our Lives. In the tape, Trump can be heard talking about kissing, groping, and making moves on women, while Bush laughs and at times offers his own commentary.

Morales revealed that Trump and Bush were not alone during the discussion—they were accompanied by a two-person camera crew, a bus driver, an Access Hollywood producer, a production assistant, Trump’s security guard, and his press representative. “Upon arriving at the NBC lot, our camera crew was let off the bus so they could record Mr. Trump getting off the bus to meet the soap opera star [Arianne Zucker].” Morales also identified the married woman whom Trump described during his initial comments—about his unsuccessful attempt to seduce her—as Access Hollywood anchor Nancy O’Dell.

“I did try and f--- her. She was married,” says Trump, who was married to his third wife Melania Trump at the time of the conversation. “And I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, ’I’ll show you where they have some nice furniture.’

“I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there. And she was married,” he continues. “Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now got the big phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look.”

After the segment, which ran for about two minutes, Access Hollywood cut to a segment on Kim Kardashian’s Paris robbery.

Earlier that evening, NBC, which currently employs Bush on Today, sent the following statement from him to media outlets including Vanity Fair: “Obviously I’m embarrassed and ashamed. It’s no excuse, but this happened eleven years ago - I was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along. I’m very sorry.”

On Friday, CNN’s Brian Stelterreported that an Access Hollywood producer remembered the segment on Monday before retrieving the tape from storage. According to Stelter, Access Hollywood had been planning a story on the tape (which was not yet finished Friday) and was surprised to discover that The Washington Post also had a copy of the audio.

Within hours of the audio tape being published, Page Six reported that Bush, whose Twitter account has been deleted, is “horribly embarrassed” by the tape.

Per Page Six:

And while we’re told producers at Today and NBC News are appalled
by his conversation with the presidential hopeful, Bush’s job at the
morning show is safe.

An NBC insider said: “It happened 11 years ago … Billy was in a
different place. He was a lot younger and more immature. He’s
definitely embarrassed by this, but his job at ‘Today’ is safe.”

Another TV source continued, “Trump supporters might not care, but the
‘Today’ show will … they want Billy to look like ‘nice funny’ Billy,
not a frat boy. The problem is that what to do if his interview
subjects bring it up? He’ll have to address it on TV.”

The audio tape follows another Bush gaffe during which he, broadcasting with Today this summer, broke an incorrect story—in which U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte claimed he was robbed at gunpoint in Brazil. The incident made global headlines before the truth was uncovered.

We’ve reached out to both Bush‘s reps and reps for his current employer, NBC’s Today, and will update this post as needed.

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